I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.
~Men at Work "Down Under" 1982
Remember that one? It's going through my mind today because my college graduate (I can still say that less than a week out of the ceremony, right? Please. Let me gloat.) is leaving today for Australia. She will be gone 2 weeks.
At the top of her list of experiences to cull is feeding a wallaby. And that is a sentence I never saw myself ever typing/saying.
I'm happy for her, of course, but the happiness has a melancholy frayed edge because she'll be so far away, flying over the ocean, NOT GOING ANYWHERE ALONE, and ... being so far away. Did I mention it's a 13 hour flight over the ocean? Taking her far away?
Sigh.
Anyway, I asked her if she is going to try a Vegemite sandwich, and she said, "Maybe." (Oh please do, and have someone take your picture at that moment!)
I hear that it's flavor is reminiscent of beef bouillon with the thickness of peanut butter.
She visited me yesterday afternoon before returning to her campus last night. Here she is after visiting with me and before a date with her boyfriend, taking a nap. How many moms out there know what this picture does to my heart? 
Speaking of moms' hearts and graduates, please join me at Internet Cafe today, where I have written a letter to graduates. I will probably tweak this for the general public and use it for my next newspaper column, too.
In the meantime, tonight, I have a Season Finale of Lost party to attend, so that will help with the melancholy. I hope they don't replay that crash scene over and over! [LOST Aussie Claire]
*EDIT 5/14 6:00 AM: OHmygosh, LOST was phenomenal. The creative genius behind this show is stunning. I've never seen anything like it on TV. I have a theory (at 5:30 AM as soon as my eyes opened this morning) that Aaron plays figuratively either as Jacob or as a "warrior" in a spiritual sense who comes back next season. But that also leaves the burning question: Who/why is WALT?!
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